Our Terminal 5 vision

The environment

We’re proud to be a global airline, connecting people, places, cultures and businesses. Air travel brings enormous freedom and pleasure, but it has other consequences too.

Because we care about the world and its people, both now and in the future we believe it’s vital that British Airways lead the way in trying to find ways to reduce the impact of air travel on our environment. We believe we have a responsibility to be respectful towards our passengers, our staff, the companies we work with as well as the world we live in.

Becoming more environmentally friendly is an ongoing process to which we are committed. Here is a roundup of some of the green initiatives we already have in place at Terminal 5:

  • At Terminal 5 we will be collecting 85% of the rainwater that hits the building and re-using it for non-potable uses, reducing demands on the mains system by 70%.
  • 85% of Terminal 5’s heat will be supplied by excess heat produced from the Heathrow heat and power station, piped through an underground tunnel.
  • Terminal 5 is built on reclaimed land from a previous sludge works.
  • 30,000 native woodland plants and 4,000 trees and shrubs are being planted around Terminal 5.
  • Smarter runway and airport design means aircraft engines idle less, reducing emissions. Aircraft will do less taxiing too.
  • We’re also encouraging passengers to reduce their emissions by making it easy to use more environmentally friendly transport to get to and from Terminal 5.

Our green building

At the earliest stages of design, an Environmental Assessment Advisory Group (EAAG) was established to advise on design and construction. Their job was to minimise Terminal 5’s impact on the environment.

Terminal 5’s glazed walls and roof are not just visually pleasing. They let in natural light and cut down on the use of artificial lighting. Excess heat from the power station at Heathrow Airport is piped under the building to supply 85% of our energy needs. We recycle rainwater from the glazed roof for other areas of the building.

We’ve used timber from sustainable sources to build the facilities in Terminal 5 and ensured toilets, taps and showers are fitted with water-saving devices.

 

Our green operations

We considered the environment in designing day-to-day operations at Terminal 5 too, working to reduce exhaust emissions and noise.

We have changed the way we provide power to aircraft. Now we can shut down an aircraft when it’s stationary, reducing both emissions and aircraft noise. Instead of using the old auxiliary power units housed in the aircraft’s tail to pump in power and air conditioning, we’re using cables from the Terminal 5 building.

The aircraft have shorter taxiing and waiting times at Terminal 5 — reducing even more fuel burn as well as cutting down noise.

And we’ve invested £25 million in a new fleet of ground vehicles that comply with the latest exhaust emissions standards.

 

Our green transport

We want to encourage travellers, wherever possible, to use more environmentally friendly transport to and from Terminal 5. BAA have made sure it’s easy to access all modes of public transport and have even created a dedicated area for securely storing bicycles in the car park.